[Solved] Help needed with CMS overpayment

Hi

Sorry to hear that you have had quite a normal experience with the CMS!

1. Find your MP (online tool) - there will be an email and his/her secretaries email/phone. I suggest you phone the secretary and ask for the quickest way to get an appointment with your MP. The answer might be to attend a surgery. Ask if you should make an appointment for the surgery - if so, make it and go along with a "synopsis" of the issue (much like you have written here) + paper work. Ask MP to help you resolve and ask what the next steps will be and when.

Tips for calling CMS
1. When you call CMS you speak to a "call handler" Case workers never answer the phone. There will be a case worker assigned to your case (or more accurately any one of a group of case workers). For most queries, call handlers are fine to deal with - but anything more complicated than simply asking for your current payment schedule (or a simple variation), you need to speak with a "case worker". Often it is the "case worker" that rings back (i.e. dont call us, we'll call you approach) when they want to speak about anything important.

2. To speak to a case worker - ask the call handler if you can speak with your case worker - and say that you *will* be holding until you speak to someone. You will get fobbed off with a "we will ring you back". Politely refuse - and say you are happy to hold - as this is the most convenient time for you to speak. They will likely try to fob you off again. If you are not put through to a case handler - ask to speak to the call handlers "team manager" or team leader. Again, you will get fobbed off. Simply keep asking them to confirm that no manager or team leader above a call handler is available in the organisation. Keep asking to speak to a team leader - case worker - and keep repeating that you will hold. The key is to remain polite and calm.

3. Eventually - you will get put on hold - and you will get put through to *someone*. It is unfortunate that one has to go through this - and it may cost a bit on the phone bill - but it is the only way I have any experience of it working.

Your situation sounds outrageous - but not uncommon.
Good luck!

sorry to hear of your stress
but as stated above it is quite the norm with these incompetent clowns

ive had a very similar/almost identical situation, my wages reduced and i was eligible for a variation so i sent in payslips, and days went by, weeks, months. then my contact arrangements changed so i sent in proof of court order and contact centre costs/travel costs, all based on the their guidelines so everything by the book, every letter was sent signed for as proof. I knew i was eligible to pay less maintenance and wanted to reduce it as it was my right.
i kept a log of date, time and who i spoke to out of 20 operators only 2 or 3 actually sounded like they knew what they were doing and talking about, some didnt even know how to navigate their own computer system and stated the system was slow that day lol.
Every call i made i was told a series of excuses that i think is laminated and stuck to all their computer screens and goes like
1) the case is in a queue to be dealt with and will be done shortly
2) the case worker is not available at the moment and will call you back (sometimes did, somestimes didnt)
3) the case worker would ring and say ive just been assigned to this case and will be reviewing it n ext week and get back to you if i need any more information (and the cycle would repeat, eventually 5 caseworkers changed and the cycle repeated until i made a written complaint)

I told them i would continue to pay the original amount to prevent falling into arrears because thats when they hounds start chasing you and want to take money from your wages and charge you for the privilege.

So eventually 9 months past and £1400 in over payments. i rang to make a complaint and was told by the clown on the other end of the phone that they dont have a formal complaints procedure just a verbal telephone complaint called a dissatisfaction complaint.i told the person i was going to my MP and was told you can do that but they will just write to us and we will write to you as you are the paying parent.(basically saying dont bother it wont get you anywhere)

As a result of this i was sent a back dated letter dated 5 days prior to me making the call apologizing for delays and asking me 3 questions (which i had already answered and sent in proof of, 1 of which was the details of the car i drive (even though there was no room for it on their original form)

anyway, 2 weeks past, still no response. in the end i had to call citizens advice bureau who sent me a copy of the complaints procedure pdf and i wrote in a letter of complaint attaching the call logs/names and all other information. i also stated that i would be taking it to the next complaints level if necessary and my mp.

eventually my case was recalculated by probably the best and only decent person on the CMS and i had overpaid by £1400 . but instead of refunding me they have knocked it off this years bill meaning i only pay approx £5 a week. But now my ex is causing contact issues out of bitterness as she cant buy any new shoes or clothes with my money for herself and has already spent last years buying a new outfit every week just to turn up for contact.

I think its time a new section and collective effort is made by all members on here to get a CMS failure thread going and then post each and everyones story to BBC watchdog. expose these incompetent clowns for what they are.

The government needs to act fact, its a shambles and honest working fathers are being conned out of their money. and the other issue is why do we live of the net wage yet pay maintenance based on gross.

old csa...new cms. same people, same failures, just rebranded.